CELEBRATING CULTURE THROUGH SPORT

I would like to acknowledge the AFL and the AFL Indigenous Programs for a respectful and first-class celebration of the contribution by Indigenous footballers, coaches, umpires and people to the nations indigenous game this recent Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

This week I've been privileged to be a mentor and coach on the Rio Tinto Footy Means Business Program. The program gathers young indigenous men from across the nation, and delivers education, holistic positive messages and sessions and the opportunity to express and celebrate culture through football. 

No less than 7 AFL Industry experts from former and current players and a coach have shared their wisdom to program participants and staff during the week. Teams each have a former AFL player as head coach with supporting line coaches which has been my duty for the program. There is ample time to share ideas amongst the program coaches with plenty of Football IQ on offer.

A highlight of the week is the game that takes place as a curtain raiser on the home of Australian sport, the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The clash demonstrated a high level of skill and flair of which Indigenous players are well celebrated for. This resonated with me and I have often looked at community groups, cultures or countries that have hot spots of skills and flair which become synonymous in certain areas.

Currently my remote coaching appointment ensures I'm privy to highly skilled footballers in my area. There are always scratch matches played at the community oval in after school hours and the youth that dominate these encounters get constant scrimmage situations, heaps of use with the ball and often the chance to snap pressure goals from the pocket. There is continuous play and experimentation. 

I'm reminded of time spent in Fiji. The Fijian Rugby 7's team won the first contested Olympic Gold medal in Brazil, the first for the tiny group of South Seas Islands. Fijian players are renowned for the ability to keep the ball in play with control and tempo, a nightmare to defend against. Much like the ability of Indigenous footballers to use their skills and community play, indeed Fijian youngsters also have village games of rugby.

They particularly play 'one touch'. The team has one possession to score a try. If a touch takes place, the opposition are rewarded with the opportunity to score from their touch. There could be 30 kids on either team, keeping the ball alive, continuity of possession, evasion, support play. These very skills are on display with the national side each tournament they attend. A small group of islands took on superior financed and high performance modelled teams and won Gold through players that having been keeping the 'ball alive' since able to catch and pass.

Brazilian Footballers are a commodity for any professional football team on the planet. Highly skilled and the ability to make something of nothing continue to amaze commentators and viewers across multiple leagues around the planet. It comes as no surprise that the hotbed for these skills comes from youth playing in to adulthood on concrete outdoor basketball courts. Futebol de salão has a smaller pitch, less players but tellingly, more touches of the ball. 

All of my above examples highlight nationalities or race that are celebrated for some type of X-Factor. So often, you hear commentators say "You just can't coach that". I actually think in many respects that you can't. This then challenges the coaching approach if this statement is true. All of these groups had the freedom to play and experiment. Let the celebration of Sir Doug Nicholls Round bring 'play' into your future coaching approach.

Coach H